Beer of the Weekend #404: Straffe Hendrik Quadruple
The beer of the weekend is the final beer from my aunt and uncle’s birthday sixer: Straffe Hendrik Quadruple, brewed by the Brouwerij De Halve Maan of Bruges, Belgium.
Serving type: 330 ml bottle. There are notches on the side of the label for a “Best before end” date, which looks to be February 2015.
Appearance: Served in a tulip. The color is dark brown with ruby tones. Three fingers of dense, lightly tanned head dissipated very slowly and unevenly, leaving trails of foam along the glass.
Smell: Dark fruits and berries. Raisin, cherry, fig, plum, and maybe a little blackberry and raspberry. On the sweeter side, there is a hint of apple. It also has malty notes of caramel, molasses, and dark chocolate. There is a little, tiny hint of booze, which may just be a figment of my imagination.
Taste: The mouthfeel is very thick and creamy. The booze is much more noticeable — it is reminiscent of brandy — and it features a slightly singed or burnt edge. That fades on subsequent sips and the dark fruits and malts shine through. Raisin, plum, fig, cherry, dark berries, and a little apple; caramel, molasses, toasted malts, and a little cocoa.
Drinkability: This is well crafted stuff. The ABV is much too high for quaffing, but it is very good stuff.
Fun facts about SHQ:
-Style: Quadrupel.
-Price: No clue.
-Serving temperature: 50-55ºF.
-Alcohol content: 11 percent ABV.
-Nerdiness from the beer’s webpage:
The Quiet Man’s grade: A.
Serving type: 330 ml bottle. There are notches on the side of the label for a “Best before end” date, which looks to be February 2015.
Appearance: Served in a tulip. The color is dark brown with ruby tones. Three fingers of dense, lightly tanned head dissipated very slowly and unevenly, leaving trails of foam along the glass.
Smell: Dark fruits and berries. Raisin, cherry, fig, plum, and maybe a little blackberry and raspberry. On the sweeter side, there is a hint of apple. It also has malty notes of caramel, molasses, and dark chocolate. There is a little, tiny hint of booze, which may just be a figment of my imagination.
Taste: The mouthfeel is very thick and creamy. The booze is much more noticeable — it is reminiscent of brandy — and it features a slightly singed or burnt edge. That fades on subsequent sips and the dark fruits and malts shine through. Raisin, plum, fig, cherry, dark berries, and a little apple; caramel, molasses, toasted malts, and a little cocoa.
Drinkability: This is well crafted stuff. The ABV is much too high for quaffing, but it is very good stuff.
Fun facts about SHQ:
-Style: Quadrupel.
-Price: No clue.
-Serving temperature: 50-55ºF.
-Alcohol content: 11 percent ABV.
-Nerdiness from the beer’s webpage:
Straffe Hendrik Quadruple is a rich and intense dark beer of high fermentation. It is brewed using a subtle mixture of special malts, which give the beer an extremely dark colour and a complex full malt character. This Quadruple combines a pure dryness with a rich fullness, flavoured with just a hint of fruit. The continuing process of re-fermentation in the bottle creates a beer which can be stored over a number of years, with an ever-changing and ever-improving taste as a result.
The Quiet Man’s grade: A.
